Volunteering in ESOL
Discussion Forum for Coordinators
Volunteering in ESOL During COVID-19
We'd love to hear about how different projects around Scotland are continuing to work with volunteers in ESOL despite the effects of COVID-19. If you have any ideas that you've been using to continue to engage volunteers and learners, please share them in the Forum.
At the Glasgow ESOL Forum we have been supporting small groups of learners (up to 4) with volunteer tutors over Zoom. Prior to this we had run a short , online training session on working with small groups of ESOL learners over Zoom in order to introduce volunteer tutors to this new way of working.
W also have learners with more specific needs that have been matched on a 1:1 or 1:2 basis with a volunteer.
Most of the learners that we've matched are those that were already registered with us. However, we have also registered a few new learners.
In addition to this, we have set up a Youtube channel where volunteers can contribute by making short videos on a specific point in ESOL. Development workers have made examples to guide this.
Below are some of the examples of the resources that we've used.
I have attached here a copy of our role description for volunteer tutors teaching small groups via Zoom. For this we have built on the existing role of volunteer group tutor.
We have kept learners engaged in ESOL learning through our Youtube channel. Development workers have made a Welcome Video as well as example teaching videos. Volunteer tutors have contributed to this with their owen content. Volunteers who wished to contribute made short teaching videos on specific learning point.
Welcome video
https://youtu.be/JU6ihJLGcVQ
I feel Happy (literacies learning video)
https://youtu.be/16Rxc5oQ-1c
I like doing (literacies learning video)
https://youtu.be/TPOg3LK2a20
I have also attached a role description that we have used for our volunteer tutors who wish to get involved in making content for our Youtube channel as well as a list of possible video topics for tutors.